Georgian police seize cryptocurrency machines
Georgia‘s Interior Ministry has seized 148 devices used for cryptocurrency mining during an investigation in the Mestia municipality. According to the ministry, the case concerns the illegal consumption of electricity and violations of energy usage regulations.
The ministry said the investigation was launched after authorities identified the use of specialised cryptocurrency mining equipment in various parts of the Mestia municipality.
According to investigators, local residents were illegally consuming large amounts of electricity and using the devices to systematically mine cryptocurrency, generating unlawful income in the process.
The investigation is being conducted under Article 229 of Georgia’s Criminal Code, which carries a maximum prison sentence of up to three years.
On 1 June, Mamuka Mdinaradze, one of the leaders of the ruling party, said the authorities were preparing to take decisive action against what he described as “illegal business activity that is damaging the energy sector”, primarily targeting unlawful cryptocurrency mining in the Mestia municipality.
Mdinaradze said electricity meters would be installed across the municipality, a measure that, according to him, had been blocked for years by various forms of resistance.
At the same time, he stressed that residents of the region would continue to receive free electricity up to a specified consumption limit, with standard tariffs applying only to usage exceeding that threshold.
Georgian police seize cryptocurrency machines